Hotel Living: Not as Romantic as It Sounds

We have begun our three-month stay at Fort Jackson. At first I thought, my hubby and me, on an extended “vacation,” no chores, no cooking. Just me and my honey hanging out in a hotel room together—how romantic!

Um, no.

We’re finishing out our first month and let me tell you, as I’m sure you know, I was extremely naïve! I guess that comes with the territory of being a new spouse.

The first morning, we got milk and cereal since all we have is a fridge and microwave. I thought my simple breakfast was a winner. Until I realized I had no bowl. No big deal; I will use the cups they provided in the room. Until I realized we didn’t have any spoons. Guess dry cereal it is! So the next day, I swiped some extra spoons from Marble Slab. Plus, pregnancy cravings without a proper kitchen are no joke. I can’t fix anything for myself!

Here are all the things no one tells you about living long-term in a hotel:

  • There is only one room, so when your hubby has to be at PT by 0500, the lights are on before 0430.
  • When he has work to do, there is nowhere else to go to not distract him.
  • Eating out two or three meals a day is harder than you’d think.
  • The bed becomes the couch, dining room table, desk, dresser, and more.
  • The shower is super tiny (more of a personal problem than an actual problem).
  • Since everything here with you has to be put into two suitcases at the end, you will have minimal entertainment during the day while he works.
  • Three months is not enough time to get acclimated to the area, get a job, get involved in the community, and make friends.
  • Puppies and hotels are not an ideal mix.
  • You will miss cooking.
  • You will get a lot of quality time together (which is nice since we are about to spend a year apart).
  • Lots of date nights!
  • You will no longer eat sweet potatoes for every meal (my hubby’s favorite side dish for all meals!).
  • Great excuse to travel and spend time with extended family (that I am taking an absence of during this PCS).

As difficult as this can be, I can only imagine it will become much more difficult to do this when we add a baby to this mix shortly. Right now, following my husband on his TDY works for us. But, this is the smallest hotel room I’ve ever seen. I don’t even know where we would put the pack n’ play, let alone all the other stuff we’d need for baby!

I’m taking advantage of this situation while we can. Plus, I can’t imagine wasting our last three months together before we say, “see you later” for this upcoming assignment.

So, if any of you more seasoned spouses have any advice for hotel living for new spouses like me, please send it my way!

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Retired Blogger

Retired Blogger

Army Wife Network is blessed with many military spouses who share their journey through writing in our Experience blog category. As we PCS in our military journey, bloggers too sometimes move on. Their content and contributions are still valued and resourceful. Those posts are reassigned under "Retired Bloggers" in order to allow them to remain available as content for our AWN fans.

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